Modern Reharmonization

Modern Reharmonization

Tools for Modern Reharmonization

Modern Reharmonization can be a somewhat complicated subject and it can be approached from many angles. In this blog post I want to show how some of the charts found in my books can be used to reharmonize a song, but also how this information can be used to get more use out of the things your already know or learn in the future.

List of Bruce Arnold Books Containing Reharmonization Charts

The books below contain the reharmonization charts discussed in this blog post:

“Essential Scales” shows you how to apply 22 of the most used scales to different chords in 12 keys.

“Scale Analysis” shows you which scales work within a complex chord progression, the likelihood that they will show up and how to hear each scale so that you can develop your ear training skills.

“Ultimate Arpeggio” takes a look at every three note chord combination. (There are only 12 possible three note chords) It then shows you the application of every three note chord through charts and also real musical examples via études.

“Ultimate Three Note Chord Lexicon” takes an in depth look at each of the twelve three note combinations with études. It also includes a list of all possible chords and which of those chords can be easily played on the guitar.

“Tertial Octatonics” shows you how you can combine two “7th chords’ into an octatonic scale and every chord that these combinations work over.

Modern Reharmonization Chart

Below is an example from the “Essential Scales” book showing how you can apply a Major Pentatonic in all keys:

Please note that a “mel” written after a chord means there is an avoid note, so the scale can only be used melodically. If there is a “harm” after the chord name this means that the complete scale could be used as harmony and as melody. It that doesn’t make sense to you or you just plain don’t understand it, you need to brush up on your music theory and how chords and scales relate to each other. To gain insight and ability in this area I would recommend the following books:

How the Chart Works

1. On the left side you see which degree each note of a C Major Pentatonic would be in every key:

2. On the right side of the chart you can see which chord(s) work with the notes of the C Major Pentatonic. Remember the notes on the left are transposed so you can see their relationship in each key. So you can see for instance that a C Major Pentatonic works over a “Gb7” chord:

Let’s look deeper into why you can play a C Major Pentatonic over a “Gb7” chord. Playing a C Pentatonic scale over a “Gb7” chord works because each of the notes of the C Major Pentatonic scale are either chord tones or available tensions. The reason this works is because all of the notes of C Major Pentatonic are either chord tones or available tensions on a Gb7 chord. For instance: “C” = flat 5 in “Gb” is an available tension on a “7” chord, “D” = flat 6 in “Gb” is an available tension on a “7” chord, “E” = flat 7 in “Gb” is a chord tone on a “7” chord, “G” = flat 2 in “Gb” is an available tension on a “7” chord, and finally A = flat 3 in Gb is also an available tension on a “7” chord. So all of the notes of C Major Pentatonic are either chord tones or available tensions.

Some More Ways to Use the Chart

You could also take just one note of the C Major Pentatonic Scale and see which chords you could use over that note. For instance if we took the note “G” from the C Major Pentatonic you can see outlined below:

You can see what “G” would be in every key. You could then look to the right and pick a chord to use. For instance if we decided that we wanted to use the “G” note with some kind of “A” chord we go down to the A row and see that “G” is the “b7” in “A,” and then go to the right and choose a chord. In this case I chose “A7sus4.”

Extremely Useful Charts for Modern Reharmonization

So you can see that these Modern Rehamonization charts are very useful, and provide a quick way to apply scales to other chords or to find chords that work with a specific note. There are other ways to great modern reharmonizations which I discuss in Chord Reharmonization Overview post.

Bruce Arnold Music Education Genealogy Chart

You might enjoy checking out the “Music Education Genealogy Chart” located on my artist’s site. You will clearly see the historic progression of pedagogy that is the basis for Muse Eek Publishing Products. Great musicians throughout history have been studying the ideas presented by Muse-eek.com which derives its content from a a lineage that stretches back to Scarlatti!